Thursday 11 September 2014

The Walking Sticks of Catherine the Great

Whilst perusing the wardrobe of Catherine the Great in preparation for my post yesterday, I happily stumbled upon this gloriously sparkly pair of walking sticks. Since we are already at The Hermitage to admire Catherine's wonderful Lady Mundirnye gown, then let us linger and admire these lovely accessories too.

These two walking sticks were made by an unknown craftsman in Russia in the late 18th century. They are a far cry from my old grandpa Gilflurt's simple wooden walking stick although, it must be said, he was never a showy man and unshowy isn't a description one might apply to Catherine the Great! 

The Walking Sticks of Catherine the Great

Eschewing simplicity in favour of glitter, the Empress and Autocrat of All the Russias has plumped for walking canes topped by ornate gold handles, each decorated by diamonds. Catherine's monogram is picked out in yet more diamonds against a royal blue enamel enamel bearing, creating a suitably imperial finish!

I cannot fault Catherine's taste in these ornate canes; to me, they are so quintessentially 18th century that I could look at them for hours!

Life in the Georgian Court, true tales of 18th century royalty, is available at the links below.

Pen and Sword
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Book Depository (free worldwide shipping)

5 comments:

Helen Hollick said...

Catherine - have you got full-length pictures of these or any idea of the length? My daughter and I I suspect that the thinner one is a side-saddle cane! When riding aside you carry a slender cane on the right-hand side to use instead of your leg.

Catherine Curzon said...

I don't have a full-length picture but the lengths are 135.5 (the slender cane) and 75.5 cm. That seems to add weight to the theory!

Walking Stick Trader said...

Those are quite beautiful. I too would love to see full length photos. Thanks for sharing.

Catherine Curzon said...

A pleasure; I have requested a full length picture but so far have not heard whether I will be allowed to see one!

Asifur Rahman said...

nice